Checkmate
by Theoretical-Optimist
Summary: Rose and Scorpius engage in a long distance game of Wizard Chess with their hearts as the stakes. Written for Round 9 of The Houses Competition.


House: Gryffindor

Position: HoH

Category: Theme (love)

Prompt: Book

Word Count (excluding header): 2727

Beta: Tigger

* * *

If Lorcan bloody Scamander didn't shut his mouth right this minute, Scorpius knew that he would be on a one way trip to Azkaban. Catching the eyes of his best mate across the table, Scorpius was at least satisfied that Albus would likely be in an adjoining cell.

Lorcan had been yammering on about Blibbering Humdingers and Gulping Plimpies for the last ten minutes. Even his own twin, Lysander, looked like he was about ready to cast a silencing charm on Lorcan. Scorpius wished that they could just hurry up and get this show on the road.

Albus's Aunt Hermione had called a special meeting of all their friends and family. Dozens of red-headed family members and various friends crowded into the back garden of the Granger-Weasley house. Five years ago, Scorpius would have felt horribly out of place. But now, he was a virtual member of the family.

He wished he could become an actual member of the clan, but his attempts had thus far been in vain. His eyes scanned the crowd for the object of his affection, but came up short.

"She's not here," Albus said with a knowing smirk and a twinkle in his eye.

"I know she's not—" Scorpius cut himself off. "Who's not here, Albus?"

"She's inside with her parents and Hugo."

Scorpius's eyes darted to the closed door before he could stop himself.

"I don't know why you don't just—"

Scorpius cut him off. "You know exactly why I can't. I made a grand gesture, and she stomped all over me. She's the one who has to make the next move."

"The next move?" Albus laughed. "This isn't Wizard's Chess."

Scorpius arched his brow. "That's precisely what it is. I sacrificed my pawn when I sent her flowers at work."

"I heard Rose lit a bouquet of roses on fire last week," Lorcan chimed in. Scorpius hadn't realized that others were following his conversation.

Lysander hissed, "Yeesh. Rosie hates roses."

Scorpius grinned. "I know. It was all part of my plan."

"Care to enlighten us with the details of your plan, oh chessmaster?" Albus teased.

Scorpius started to reply when his attention was diverted to the door. His breath whooshed out when he saw Rose; his Rose if she'd ever agree to it. She walked across the garden and stood side by side with her parents and brother.

"Thank you all for coming here today," Hermione addressed the crowd. "As many of you know, I will not be running for re-election as Minister for Magic."

Scorpius was aware. Albus had mentioned it a week before when they had met up at a pub. Hermione had told Harry and Ginny immediately after telling Ron and her own kids.

Hermione took a deep breath. Scorpius watched Ron squeeze her hand in reassurance. "At the end of my term, we will be moving to Australia where I will serve as British Ambassador to the Australian Ministry for a five year term."

The crowd fell into stunned silence for a moment before everyone started talking at once. Scorpius watched as various Weasleys jumped to their feet and the volume of the garden reached near eardrum piercing levels.

"Silence," roared Harry with the use of a Sonorus charm.

When a hush well over the group once more, Hermione said, "Thank you, Harry. Now, I've given this a lot of thought. Ron and I have talked it over and we feel like this is the best decision. Ron will be able to open up the first international branch of Weasley Wizard Wheezes in Sydney. Hugo will finish out his final year at Hogwarts and then plans to join Charlie in Romania."

Rose was standing next to her family, scanning the crowd but she deliberately avoided the table at which he sat. Scorpius could already feel his heart sinking as Hermione listed off the family's plans.

"And Rose?" Albus asked. Scorpius had never been so grateful to his best friend as he was at that moment.

Rose announced, "I've got two years left with my internship with Mum. So I'll be moving to Australia with them."

"What?!" Scorpius cried out. "You can't do that!"

Dozens of pairs of eyes whipped around to stare at him. He could feel their gazes on him, then onto Rose, then back to him.

"I made a commitment," Rose said.

"Well, unmake it," Scorpius said. "You are the junior counselor to the Minister of Magic. You should stay the junior counselor to the Minister of Magic even if it isn't your mother."

The eyeballs turned back to Rose. "I'm going to Australia. End of story. Any of my _friends_ are welcome to visit once I've established myself there." She emphasized the word friends and gestured to the majority of the crowd to affirm that Scorpius was not included in that group.

"Rose—" he tried again before Albus clamped his hand down over Scorpius's mouth.

"Not now, mate. You can hash it out with Rose later, but don't take this away from Aunt Hermione."

Scorpius's eyes darted to the older witch who gave him a soft look of pity. He wished someone would just Avada him where he sat.

"I'll just go," he said as he quickly rushed away from the table.

He ignored the voices of people calling after him. Propelling himself off the grounds and their encompassing security wards, he Apparated back to his flat.

He stomped into the kitchen and took a bottle of cheap Muggle tequila from the bar. His grandfather would be horrified that Scorpius even had a bottle in his cupboard. ' _Well_ ,' Scorpius thought as he forgoed a glass and chugged straight from the bottle, ' _this bottle won't be around much longer anyway.'_

* * *

"Scorpius?" Albus entered the flat. "I know you're in here, mate." He wandered into the dark living room to finding Scorpius sprawled on the couch, the now empty bottle of tequila cast aside on the floor.

"Whaddayuwant?" Scorpius mumbled.

"You left the party in quite a rush," Albus said before summoning some sobering potion.

Scorpius greedily gulped the potion down and within seconds felt the effects. The drunken numbness drained away leaving behind an ache in his chest and embarrassment.

"Did your aunt—"

"Aunt Hermione gets it," Albus promised. "She knows why you left like you did. But Uncle Ron had a few choice words for you. He was going off on a tirade before Rose stopped him."

"Why would she do something like that?" Scorpius asked.

Albus shrugged. "She asked me to give you this." He tossed a leather bound book at his prone friend.

"A book?" Scorpius flipped through a couple pages, finding them all blank. "No, it's a journal? What does she expect me to do with a…" he trailed off when he spotted a few lines on the first page written in Rose's chaotic script.

 _I know you want me. It's been obvious for years, even if you only made your intentions public recently. But I want you to take this time to consider whether it's me you truly want. Or do you just want to become a member of my family? I've given you this journal so that you can explain why it is that you and I should be together. I promise to read it, and as you confirmed this afternoon, I keep my promises._

Instead of signing the entry, Rose had crawled two messy words - _En Passant -_ a special pawn capture that repositioned the pieces.

That meant she was still willing to play the chess match with him. ' _Game on,'_ Scorpius thought.

* * *

Scorpius felt ridiculous pouring his heart and soul into the little leather bound book. Hadn't Harry and Ginny warned all of the children about the dangers of writing in a diary for years?

Yes, Scorpius realized that this journal was significantly different in that it wasn't a Horcrux, but it still made him uneasy to write in it. That easiness, though, was more likely attributable to knowing that Rose would be reading the journal when she returned. She'd decide whether his words were enough to allow him into her heart. He just hoped that they could be enough.

Scorpius scratched with a ballpoint pen - his writing implement of choice since Rose had introduced him to the Muggle invention years before.

 _It's been four months now. I write to you every day hoping against all reason that it'll be enough to prove to you that I know you. The real you and not just the one you project. You aren't the perfect Rose you want the world to believe you are. Admittedly, I thought you were for years and placed you on a golden pedestal in my mind. But the truth is, I realized that you've been hiding yourself all along. But I see you._

 _Albus mentioned that you had to attend a state dinner and ball when he was down visiting last week. He said that you moaned and complained about the excess and the waste and griped about needing to wear uncomfortable dress robes. But I know that you love wearing dress robes despite what you tell everyone. You love the way the crystals on your dresses shimmer in the light. You love the way the robes spin and flare as you twirl around the dance floor. You love feeling beautiful, but pretend like you hate it because that fits the image you try so hard to cultivate._

 _But I've got news for you Rose: you're beautiful all the time. You can't hide it even though you try. And your beauty has got nothing to do with your physical appearance (though I think you're gorgeous). You're passionate, loud, vivacious and stubborn and you should let that show through all the time._

 _Just a thought._

* * *

 _Albus mentioned that you went on a weekend trip to the Gold Coast. He was very cautious to say that you attended with a colleague named "Alex". It didn't take me long to discern that this "Alex" was male and that Albus was trying to spare my feelings._

 _But I'm not jealous hearing that you are going on a trip. It means either one of two things._

 _This is a work trip which both you and your colleague must attend, or_

 _This is a date disguised as a work trip_

 _I don't care either way._

 _Well, that's not entirely true. I care if it's a date because that means that I may have lost my chance to be with you._

 _But, at the same time, I don't care that you are going on a date. If this colleague, this man, makes you happy then that's what I want for you._

* * *

 _I overheard your mum talking to Ginny via Floo the other day. She said that Alex filled your office with bouquets of roses._

 _Did you set them on fire again?_

 _It wouldn't surprise me if you did. Anyone who knows you at all realizes that you prefer daffodils. When I gave you a bouquet all those months ago, you burned them before reading the card to find the counter charm which would have restored the cliched bunch of roses to a bundle of wild daffodils._

* * *

 _Albus mentioned that you seemed sad over his last visit. He thought you were bogged down with work and couldn't find time for a social life._

 _But that's not it at all, is it?_

 _The Rose I know can find time to do everything she wants. Which implies that you don't want to go out and have fun._

 _I'm guessing it's because your first Christmas away from England is fast approaching and you miss it._

 _You love the way the snow flutters and swirls through Diagon Alley when you run out at the last minute to do all your shopping. You love the smell of the spicy gingerbread biscuits your Nana Molly only makes in the week leading up the Christmas. You miss the epic snowball fights that break out amongst your cousins and aunts and uncles - Angelina's team won this year._

 _Just a year and a half more and your tenure as junior counselor will be over. And then you can return to England._

 _At least, I hope you'll return to England when you're done. But your mum will have three years left in her term. Will you stay with them? Or will you come home?_

 _I know it's ridiculous to think that I might factor into your plans, but I hope that I do._

* * *

Scorpius had recently been promoted from trainee to Healer in the potion damage ward of St. Mungo's. One of his patients had been coated in Stink Sap and the smell invaded Scorpius's nostrils and seemed to saturate his skin.

He was just stepping out of his bedroom following a quick shower and fresh clothes when he heard a knock at the door. Other than Muggle delivery people, he'd never had someone come to his door before. Everyone he knew could just Floo directly into the living room.

He peered through the peephole to find a very familiar, but entirely unexpected woman on his front step. Throwing open the door he exclaimed, "Rose? What are you doing here? Why aren't you in Australia?"

"It wasn't ridiculous," she replied.

Cocking his head to the side to try to make sense of that strange comment, Scorpius watched as Rose shivered in the freezing December air. "Come inside. Come get warm." He ushered her inside. "I'll start a fire. Let me have your coat and I'll fetch you a blanket and put on some tea."

She allowed him to guide her to the couch. "It wasn't ridiculous," she repeated.

"What wasn't?" he asked.

"It wasn't ridiculous to think that you would factor into my plans."

Scorpius's eyes widened as he watched Rose pull a familiar looking journal from her coat pocket. His gaze darted to where his own journal lay open on the table.

"I wasn't entirely truthful when I gave you that journal," Rose said. "It's charmed with a mirror spell. So everything that you wrote…" she trailed off.

"You were able to read right away," Scorpius finished.

"I know it was deceitful and underhanded, but I was convinced that you'd never write in it. I thought that once I was gone, you'd move on to one of my other cousins and become part of the family that way."

Scorpius gave her an incredulous look. "When have I ever given you the impression that I would do that?"

"You probably don't remember, but during the summer after fourth year Lily had a bit of a crush on you. She'd follow you around like a lost puppy. Albus joked that if the two of you got married, you be family. And you said—"

"I said that I wouldn't mind being part of the family at all," he finished. "Rose, I was fifteen. You took that seriously?"

"Well, no. But it's always been nagging in the back of my mind. That you didn't want me. That you just wanted a way in."

"Rose, that's so—"

She cut him off. "I know it was insane. But when I felt myself falling, I had to be sure that you wouldn't just use me and cast me aside."

"I would never use anyone like that, let alone you. You've got to know that, Rose."

"I do." She gave him a sheepish look as she tapped the mirror journal. "Well I do now. You really care for me, don't you Scorpius?"

"I don't care for you," he said, causing her to inhale sharply. "I love you, Rose. It's always going to be you. The real you. If you don't feel the same way, then I'll have to live with that. But don't ever think that I'd go for one of your cousins instead. That's just ridiculous."

She nodded. "It is ridiculous."

"I'm glad we're in agreement." Scorpius turned to go make tea but was stopped when Rose gripped his wrist.

"That's not the only thing we agree on," Rose said in a soft voice. "You love me?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Well, I love you too."

"Checkmate!" Scorpius exclaimed.

Rose scowled at him. "Checkmate would imply you won and I lost."

"Shall we call it a draw then?" Scorpius smirked as he lowered his forehead to hers.

"Rematch?" Rose whispered.

"Game on," Scorpius murmured before he captured her lips.


End file.
